


Santa's Grotto

by phornex



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Christmas, Christmas in Diagon Alley, Family, Father Christmas - Freeform, Fluff, M/M, Santa Claus - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-09
Updated: 2019-02-09
Packaged: 2019-10-25 01:09:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17715182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phornex/pseuds/phornex
Summary: Harry takes the kids to meet Santa Claus in Diagon Alley, and gets a Christmas surprise of his own.





	Santa's Grotto

**Author's Note:**

> It's two months late, but I don't want to wait until next Christmas to post this. Maybe next year I'll write the sequel. It's unbeta'd. I finished it in bed on a Saturday morning with the cat on my feet. Please enjoy! <3

Diagon Alley, two weeks before Christmas, was not where Harry wanted to be. The little street heaved with people, most of whom stared at Harry as he pushed his way through. One elderly woman actually tried to give him a Christmas present, which he almost accepted, until he realised that a gift already wrapped and labelled for him was quite a creepy thing to receive from a stranger. 

He also didn’t want to be dragging three kids behind him. Well, two kids, and one surly teenager. And they weren’t even his. 

Teddy seemed to be feeling the same way. “Why are we here again? This is—ow!” he faltered as a flying parcel crashed into him, “This is a nightmare.”

“Hermione wanted the kids to meet Santa. I’m here because for some reason she thought I would enjoy it.” Because she wanted to distract him from the fact that he was away from his own kids. It wasn’t working. “You’re here because you love Rose and Hugo and you can’t wait to see their little faces light up.” 

Teddy looked at him suspiciously. Harry grinned. 

“Okay, you’re here because I’ll need somebody to have a beer with after we get through this. I’m buying.”

Teddy rolled his eyes, but gave him a crooked smile. Just then, Rose shouted out, “It’s him! It’s Santa!”

And sure enough, on a wooden platform in the middle of Diagon Alley was the most beautiful Santa’s Grotto Harry had ever seen. It was surprisingly Muggle in design, and it put Harry in mind of the shopping centre Santas the Dursleys had taken him and Dudley to when they were children. This Santa’s Grotto, however, had magic to help the special effects, with impressive results. Snowflakes drifted down and landed softly to create a blanket of snow that stayed white even when children walked across it. Two enormous Christmas trees sparkled with real candles, and a shimmer of silver dust fell from the two fairies who danced and twirled past each other from treetop to treetop. Boxes wrapped in red and green paper and tied with golden and silver bows floated up and out into the sky. And at the platform’s centre, on a strange, throne-like chair, sat Santa Claus himself.

Harry was surprised at how very non-magical the Santa was. He was surrounded by magic, but the Santa suit itself was obviously Muggle. It looked like an expensive one, red velvet and white fur trim, with huge gold buttons. A black belt with a beautiful golden clasp, shaped like a Christmas wreath. The only thing that gave him away was the slight shimmer that Harry’s Auror training had taught him to recognise as a glamour spell. This Santa was using it to create a round belly and a big, bushy beard. Harry smiled. 

“Okay kids, we need to get in the queue…” Harry called ahead.

“Uncle Harry! We have to talk to the elf first!”

“Elf? What’s a House Elf doing in Diagon— oh.” Harry blinked as he spotted the elves - humans, in Muggle elf costumes, handing red and green candy canes out to children in the queue. 

“Uncle Harry, I found one!”

Harry turned to face the elf holding Hugo’s hand, and found himself face to face with Pansy Parkinson. Before he could respond, Pansy beamed at him. 

“Harry! So glad you made it!”

“Erm… were you expecting me?”

“Oh, Hermione said you might drop by.” And _that_ was still weird; Pansy and Hermione had formed the most unlikely friendship Harry could have imagined, but ten years after their first frosty post-war meeting, they were a force to be reckoned with. Their combined strategy and ruthlessness made them unstoppable, and between them they’d formed a reputation for community activism that terrified the old men sitting at the Ministry. 

Pansy was still talking. “There’s a few people you might recognise actually, Millicent and Theo are on gift duties, Greg is charming the candy canes, and Blaise is around here somewhere as well--oh, there he is look, wave!” and Harry found himself waving at Blaise Zabini, who was somehow pulling off a green velvet elf suit and curled-toe boots like something out of a couture fantasy. 

Before Harry could ask any questions, like _why is half of our year’s Slytherin house volunteering at a Muggle Santa’s Grotto?_ , Pansy was steering him toward the queue. “Have fun!” she said, leaving with a cheery twinkle in her eye that left Harry feeling confused and a little disturbed.

Rose and Hugo started to get impatient at the sight of the queue ahead of them. Just as they started to bicker, Greg Goyle ambled over with a colourful basket of candy canes.

“Alright Harry? Good to see you, mate. You got the Granger brood with you then?”

Harry liked Greg Goyle; he was friendly and easy-going, and didn’t seem to feel at all awkward about the years he’d spent tormenting Harry and his friends. For some reason, Harry found it comforting.

Rose sniffed. “It’s Granger-Weasley, actually,” she informed Greg. Greg chuckled.

“Yeah, and there’s no guessing which one you take after, eh little one?”

Rose smiled, and nudged her brother. “Grandma says Hugo got all the Weasley genes.”

“Yeah, he did that,” Greg agreed, ruffling Hugo’s ginger hair. “Right then, so who wants a candy cane?”

“Me! Me!” both of the children shouted. 

“Thought you might. There are very special candy canes, okay? Your Uncle George helped me develop them.”

Rose and Hugo grabbed a candy cane each. Hugo unwrapped his, but as soon as he went to put it in his mouth, it twisted away from him. Rose frowned as hers did the same, and the two of them looked at each other, mystified. 

“Should keep them quiet for a while,” Greg said, winking at Harry. “Here y’are Teddy, I’ve got something for you as well, if you’re not too old for Christmas sweets. How old are you now, anyway?”

“Eighteen,” said Teddy, and then his eyes widened. “Bloody hell, are those butterbeer boilers?”

“Yep, made them this morning.” Greg handed a boiled sweet to Teddy, and then gave one to Harry, who popped it into his mouth curiously. It was like a Werther’s Original, but with the buttery sweetness came the warmth of alcohol sinking into his chest. “They’re under a lasting charm too, should keep you going while you wait for the queue to go down,” Greg continued. “Right, I’d better get back to it. Have a good time with Santa, eh?” He nodded at Harry, winked again, and nudged him with his elbow as if sharing some secret joke, but before Harry could ask him what, he had disappeared back into the crowd.

Finally, they made it to the front of the queue. The whole Santa system was really rather clever. The children told Santa what they wanted, and a Quick Quotes Quill was set up under the chair to note it down, and immediately send a letter off to the child’s parents, telling them what they had asked for, and where in Diagon Alley they could buy it. 

Harry struggled to stifle a smile as Teddy led Hugo up to Santa. He couldn’t hear them, but he saw Hugo climb onto Santa’s knee and beam up at him. He started talking, and Santa laughed, and then Hugo whispered something in his ear. Santa nodded wisely, and gave Hugo a high five before setting him back down on the ground. And then - and now Harry really was laughing - Hugo grabbed Teddy’s hand, and dragged him over to Santa, and pointed at Santa’s lap. Teddy looked mortified, and Santa laughed again, patting his knee teasingly. In the end, in a compromise that made Harry suddenly very proud, Teddy perched on the arm of Santa’s chair, and had a conversation with him that seemed to be entirely for Hugo’s benefit, and by the end all three of them were laughing. 

“It’s our turn, Uncle Harry! Come on!” Rose pulled him by the hand over to Santa’s chair. It was more like a throne, really. As they approached, Harry thought he saw Santa’s cheery expression falter for a moment, but it was back again by the time he had scooped up little Rose and put her on his knee.

“Ah, so you must be the famous Rose Granger-Weasley!”

“Yes, and you must be the famous Santa Claus,” Rose replied. 

“That’s right.”

“My mother says that even though you’re a mythical figure, you’re a very significant part of Muggle culture, and it’s important that I meet you so that I get a fully-rounded cultural experience.”

“That does sound like something your mother would say,” Santa said, and he looked over at Harry with a smile that looked vaguely familiar, and did something strange to Harry’s stomach. 

“You know my mother?” Rose asked, a quizzical look on her face. 

“Oh yes…” Santa’s expression faltered and recovered again, “yes, she writes to me quite frequently, to discuss the... rights of my elves.”

“Ah,” Rose said, very seriously, “Are they unionising? Mum says it’s very important for elves to unionise, she says that—”

Harry cut in. “Rose, why don’t you tell Santa what you’d like for Christmas?” 

Rose rolled her eyes. “Alright, but I’ve already given mum a wishlist.”

“How about you ask me for something you wouldn’t ask your mum for? I bet I can arrange for it to arrive anyway.”

Rose went to say something, and then quirked her eyebrow at Harry. Harry rolled his eyes, and took a couple of steps back, so that Rose could talk to Santa in private. There was some fevered whispering, and a hum of understanding from Santa. Finally, Rose jumped off Santa’s lap, and called back to Harry.

“We’re done now!” she said, and held out her hand to Santa. “It was very nice to meet you, Mr Claus.”

Santa gave her an amused smile, and shook her hand. “It was very nice to meet you too, Ms Granger-Weasley.” Then he looked over at Harry. “Come on then young man, your turn.”

“Oh no, it’s okay, I’m just here with the kids—”

“No no, I insist. Little Rose here requested that her friend Harry Potter get to meet Father Christmas.”

Harry glared at Rose, who gave him a devilish smile back. “Have fun, Harry!” she said, and skipped away before Harry could pull her back.

Harry sighed. “I’m not sitting on your lap,” he said. 

“I wouldn’t dream of asking,” Santa said, a trademark twinkle in his eye that just had to be the glamour charm. “Your young friend Teddy sat on the arm of my chair, how about that?”

“I— Okay.” Harry perched himself, feeling stupid. “I don’t really know why she wanted me to meet you, though. There are plenty of kids who—”

“Young Ms Granger-Weasley was under the impression that you were in a bad mood, and in need of cheering up.” Harry’s shoulders sagged, but Santa continued. “Personally, I think she just wanted the great Harry Potter to meet somebody more famous than himself.”

Harry frowned, but there was that twinkle again. As Harry looked closer, past the wobble of the glamour, grey eyes and sharp cheekbones came into focus. Suddenly...

“Malfoy?”

“Hi Harry. Surprised to see me?”

“I mean… yeah. Nice glamour work.”

“Thanks. I tried a traditional Muggle fat suit, but it was so uncomfortable.”

Harry stifled a laugh at the thought of Draco believing fat suits were _traditional_ Muggle costume. He hadn’t really thought of it that way before. 

“You haven’t got the rest of the Potter clan with you today then?”

“No, they’re spending this Christmas up in Anglesey with Ginny. I’ll get them next year.”

“Ah.” Draco nodded, “That must be difficult for you.”

“Yeah,” Harry admitted, “It’s not great. First Christmas without them. We always tried to do Christmas together, even after we broke up, but...”

“There was always going to be a first Christmas without them eventually,” Draco finished for him. “I’m sorry. It sounds rough.”

Harry shrugged. “I’ll be with the rest of the Weasleys for Christmas. How about you, any plans?”

“Just me and Scorpius this year. My mother was going to come, but Christmas is quiet at our house now, and to be honest I think she’d be happier in Lyons with the Zabinis.”

Harry nodded. For a moment they fell into silence, and Harry wasn’t sure whether he should just say his goodbyes, but Draco was looking at him expectantly, and Harry felt that he might not get another chance to ask, so— 

“You’re dying to ask, aren’t you?” Draco said, grinning.

Harry smiled sheepishly. “Yeah, I am.”

“Well, go on then.”

“Okay: why is esteemed potions maker Draco Malfoy secretly disguised as Muggle Santa in the middle of Diagon Alley?”

Draco laughed. “I’ve been asking myself that question a lot today, too.” He sighed, and the smile faded as he spoke next. “It’s only the second Christmas since Astoria passed, and Scorp is still finding it tough. We tried to have a traditional Christmas last year, but it was so miserable without her, and I think it made it harder on him. He’s been learning about Muggle traditions from his friends at school — in fact I think little Rose has been teaching him about Christmas crackers, he keeps asking if we can put some in our foyer tree — and I thought maybe if he got to enjoy some new traditions, once that didn’t remind him of his mum, it might...”

Harry nodded, surprised to find himself blinking back tears. “Yeah,” he said reassuringly. “It might.”

“Pansy’s mum is bringing him to meet Santa later. He won’t know it’s me. I’m looking forward to seeing his his face.”

Harry felt his chest tighten. “Hey,” he said, “If you don’t have plans for Christmas day, why don’t you and Scorpius come to the Burrow?”

Draco looked startled. “Oh, that’s very kind, but I’m not sure—”

“Molly would love to have you,” Harry said firmly, “And I know for a fact the kids would be delighted. Rose and Scorpius get on like a house on fire, and all the other Weasley kids will be there - Bill and Fleur’s little ones are great, and Charlie and his boyfriend just adopted twins. Between the lot of them, there’ll be plenty of distraction for Scorpius. And for you.” And for me, Harry thought.

Draco swallowed. “That sounds…. really wonderful. Thank you. Can I drop you an owl once I ask Scorpius what he’d like to do?”

“Yeah, of course. Okay. Well, I’ll see you—”

“Oh! Harry Potter!” Harry turned, and found himself face to face with a young woman he didn’t recognise, clutching a camera and looking wide-eyes at the pair of them. “Harry, we’ve got to get a photo of you and Santa for the Prophet! Our readers will love it! Come on, what do you say?”

“Well, er… alright, sure…”

“Brilliant! Ah now come on, don’t be shy, get a bit closer - in fact, why don’t you sit on Santa’s lap? What a great photo that would be!”

“Oh! No, that’s okay, I’ll just—”

“Come on Harry, what’s the matter? Come and sit on Santa’s knee,” drawled Draco, patting his knee the way he had with Teddy, a mischievous twinkle in his eye. Harry knew he was teasing, but he also recognised the surprising flush of warmth it sent through him. Without thinking too hard about it, he sat himself down, resting one arm around Draco’s shoulders. 

Draco stared at him, wide-eyed. “Harry,” he stammered, “I was only…”

“Joking? Come on Santa, what’s the matter?” Harry grinned back at Draco, who rolled his eyes. 

The photographer was still lining up her shot. “Let’s get one of Harry asking Santa for something for Christmas! Some of our readers like to lip-read the photos - what will you ask for, Harry?”

Draco laughed. “Yes, Harry,” he said in his best Santa voice, “What would you like for Christmas, young man? Santa can get you anything you ask for!”

Harry leaned in toward Draco, and cupped his hand to his ear. “How about a date?” 

Harry pulled back to find Draco staring at him. Draco cleared his throat.

“I… I’d like that.”

Harry bit his lip, and smiled. “Good,” he said. “I’d like that too. I think, um… I think Hermione suggested I come and see you for a reason.”

Draco smiled a huge, genuine smile, and looked away. He did a double-take as he gazed over to the queue entrance. “Merlin,” he muttered, “I think she might have had an accomplice.” Pansy was leaning against the gate, staring at them both with a massive grin on her face, giving Draco a thumbs-up. They looked at each other again. Harry wanted to kiss Malfoy right there, but settled for gazing beyond the Santa-glamour into soft grey eyes.

Behind them, Blaise cleared his throat. “I hate to interrupt,” he said with a knowing smile, “but there are quite a lot of children here to see Santa, and if you two sit here having a staring contest then the rest of them will want one too.”

Draco rolled his eyes. “Go on,” he said to Harry, “Let’s talk tonight. I’ll owl you.”

“Yeah. Okay. I hope Scorpius has a nice time with Father Christmas. I want to hear all about it. See you later, Santa.” And before he could throw himself at Malfoy, he stood up and walked back toward the kids, who were looking at him with a confused expression. 

Rose gave him a sly look as they left the centre of Diagon Alley. “How was your conversation with Santa?” she asked.

Harry couldn’t help the dopey grin that played across his face. “Come on, Rose,” he said, “Let’s get you and your mother some mince pies on the way home.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Merry Christmas!


End file.
